Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Partition Lawsuit Against Partner living in Japan

The answer is the same regardless of where the co-owners live: a partition lawsuit must be filed. The issue you raise is one of service. Japan is a signatory to the Hague Convention, also known as the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters. It is a multilateral treaty signed by many of the countries in the world, in 1965. It allows for service of judicial documents from one signatory state to another without recourse to consular and diplomatic channels. What this means is that you can fairly easily serve a resident of Japan with process related to a United States lawsuit.

My firm is routinely retained to handle partition suits all over California. Call or email if you need help.

Re: Partition Lawsuit Against Partner living in Japan

If the six owners are truly partners, and the income property is held by the partnership as partnership property, there may be better alternatives than a partition lawsuit. The partnership agreement may, for example, give authority to dispose of partnership property to a single partner, or a majority of partners. Or, the partnership can be dissolved and wound up under partnership law, perhaps without the necessity of going to court at all.

The term 'partner' is often used loosely to refer to people working together in other business arrangements that aren't partnerships, e.g. small corporations or here, perhaps you own the property as tenants in common. If so, partition is probably your only option.

So, step one is to get clear on the method of holding title to the property and then the terms of the contract, if any, between the six of you. Note that a partnership does not require an express agreement in order to exist. Look at your deed to see how title is held.